Advice on purchasing a laptop needed

cocomk1

Hello all,

In the next few weeks Im going to have to purchase a laptop for college. My max budget is €500 at most. Can someone give me advice on what to buy. Links would be helpful. I was thinking of this asus laptop package : http://www.carphonewarehouse.ie/product.php/923/73/asus_ul30___accessory_pack/157089b08929c174e67de7decd73d149 . Its €460 at the minute. Although

This hp laptop on the right is also a possibility:
http://www.pcworld.ie/

All advice welcome. I wouldn't know much about 'ram', 'ghz' etc...so would be grateful of any help

hearny

I'm a big fan of Toshiba laptops, in my experience they seem to out live any other machines that I service.

Running Windows 7 2GB is the lowest RAM you should use, 4GB would be best if you can get it.

If you go for 4GB RAM make sure the version of Windows is 64bit or you wont get use of all of it.

Processor speed can be a bit misleading as it only gives part of the story as there is also bus speed, number of cores (actual and virtual) and Cache to consider.

Im not a fan of Celeron processors so I would try to stay away from them.

The AMD processors usually have better graphics chips than the Intel ones so if you were doing anything that is heavy on the graphics card like gaming, for that price range AMD might be the better option.

I will post any links I come across.

bonerjams03

I was on the verge of purchasing my shiny new Toshiba laptop but was warned by my friend, who's no fool, that their battery life was terrible.

Is this true? Does it refer mainly to older models or just a case of that battery getting old...

Alanstrainor

IRcolm wrote: »

I was on the verge of purchasing my shiny new Toshiba laptop but was warned by my friend, who's no fool, that their battery life was terrible.

Is this true? Does it refer mainly to older models or just a case of that battery getting old...

That's a very weird statement for anyone to make tbh. Battery life will depend on the laptop in question, and not the manufacturer. Most batteries would be made by the same outsourced companies so it doesn't make any sense to say that all toshiba batteries have a terrible battery life. In short, it's a load of bull.

hearny

Have to agree with Alanstrainor on it being nonsense. There is always the possibility of getting a poor battery regardless of laptop manufacturers.

Most people ruin their batteries themselves by running the laptop with the adapter plugged in all the time anyway, its better to leave the battery run out (or almost run) out then charge it fully. My Macbook is 2 and a half years old and the battery still lasts at least 2 hours on full brightness, closer to 3 and a half hours when dimmed.

cosmic

Sorry to highjack this thread but I'm contemplating this:

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Compaq_Presario_CQ61-406SA_Laptop_WD428Ea/version.asp

Any thoughts? I don't know much about AMD.

All I really need is something reliable. I have €500 to spend. Will only be using it for internetting and downloading movies and music. All files will be stored on my external hard drives.

cocomk1

hearny wrote: »

The AMD processors usually have better graphics chips than the Intel ones so if you were doing anything that is heavy on the graphics card like gaming, for that price range AMD might be the better option.

Today I came across a toshiba laptop with this type of processor for €600. Will this allow me do auto-cad up to a good enough standard?

Jaafa

cosmic wrote: »

Sorry to highjack this thread but I'm contemplating this:

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Compaq_Presario_CQ61-406SA_Laptop_WD428Ea/version.asp

Any thoughts? I don't know much about AMD.

All I really need is something reliable. I have €500 to spend. Will only be using it for internetting and downloading movies and music. All files will be stored on my external hard drives.

For your needs it will be fine if not too good. In fact you probably could get one for around 350- 400 yoyos.